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Michael Beaney

Analytic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction introduces some of the key ideas of the founders of analytic philosophy—Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, Ludwig ...
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Analytic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction introduces some of the key ideas of the founders of analytic philosophy—Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Susan Stebbing around the turn of the 20th century—by exploring certain fundamental philosophical questions and showing how those ideas can be used in offering answers. Considering the work of Susan Stebbing, it also explores the application of analytic philosophy to critical thinking, and emphasizes the conceptual creativity that lies at the heart of fruitful analysis. Throughout, this VSI illustrates why clarity of thinking, precision of expression, and rigour of argumentation are rightly seen as virtues of analytic philosophy.Less

Julia Annas

Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction introduces ancient debates and focuses on important and revealing features of the subject providing a sense of its freshness and ...
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Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction introduces ancient debates and focuses on important and revealing features of the subject providing a sense of its freshness and liveliness, and of its wide variety of themes and styles. The tradition of ancient philosophy is a long, rich and varied one, in which a constant note is that of discussion and argument. What did ancient philosophers think about the conflict of reason and emotion within man? Are there any subjects that engaged the minds of ancient philosophers that do not concern their modern counterparts? What can we learn from the thoughts of the ancient philosophers?Less

David DeGrazia

Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction explores the implications for how we should treat animals in connection with our diet, zoos, and research. Most people are opposed to ...
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Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction explores the implications for how we should treat animals in connection with our diet, zoos, and research. Most people are opposed to cruelty and sense that animals have moral significance. At the same time, traditional views that sanction animal use with few constraints have heavily influenced beliefs and everyday practices. How should we understand the moral status of animals vis-à-vis human beings? Do animals have moral rights? If so, what does this mean? What kinds of beings are animals, what sorts of mental lives do they have, and how should we understand welfare?Less

Roger Scruton

Beauty: A Very Short Introduction explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object — either in art, in nature, or the human form — beautiful. It strongly refutes the ...
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Beauty: A Very Short Introduction explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object — either in art, in nature, or the human form — beautiful. It strongly refutes the notion that judgements of beauty are purely subjective and relative, and that we can learn little from art criticism and study. Arguing that our experience of beauty is rationally founded, and that beauty is a real and universal value, this VSI shows how our sense of beauty has an indispensable part to play in the way we shape our world.Less

Stephen Mumford and Rani Lill Anjum

Causation is the most fundamental connection in the universe. Without it, there would be no science or technology. There would be no moral responsibility either, as none of our thoughts ...
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Causation is the most fundamental connection in the universe. Without it, there would be no science or technology. There would be no moral responsibility either, as none of our thoughts would be connected with our actions and none of our actions with any consequences. Any intervention we make in the world around us is premised on there being causal connections that are, to a degree, predictable. It is causation that is at the basis of prediction and also explanation. Causation: A Very Short Introduction introduces the key theories of causation and also the surrounding debates and controversies.Less

Paul Strohm

Conscience: A Very Short Introduction highlights what the particularly European concept of conscience has meant to successive generations and why it has a reputation as one of ...
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Conscience: A Very Short Introduction highlights what the particularly European concept of conscience has meant to successive generations and why it has a reputation as one of the most significant Western contributions to human rights and human dignity. In the West, conscience has been relied upon for 2,000 years as a judgement that distinguishes right from wrong. It has effortlessly moved through every period division and timeline between the ancient, medieval, and modern. The Romans identified it, the early Christians appropriated it, and Reformation Protestants and loyal Catholics relied upon its advice and admonition. Today it is embraced with equal conviction by non-religious and religious alike.Less

Simon Critchley

Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction shows that Continental philosophy encompasses a distinct set of philosophical traditions and practices, with a compelling ...
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Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction shows that Continental philosophy encompasses a distinct set of philosophical traditions and practices, with a compelling range of problems often ignored by the analytic tradition. It discusses the ideas and approaches of philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Habermas, Foucault, and Derrida, and introduces key concepts such as existentialism, nihilism, and phenomenology by explaining their place in the Continental tradition. It discusses the reasons for the conflict between Continental and Anglo-American philosophy, and argues that philosophers should now attempt to overcome this divide.Less

Stephen Eric Bronner

Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction explores the concepts and themes that distinguished critical theory from its more traditional philosophical competitors. Critical ...
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Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction explores the concepts and themes that distinguished critical theory from its more traditional philosophical competitors. Critical theory emerged in the 1920s from the work of the Frankfurt School, the circle of German–Jewish academics who sought to diagnose and cure the ills of society. Sketches of leading representatives of this critical tradition, such as Georg Lukács and Ernst Bloch, Theodor W. Adorno and Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse and Jürgen Habermas, as well as many of its seminal texts and empirical investigations, are presented. Concepts such as method and agency, alienation and reification, the culture industry and repressive tolerance, non-identity, and utopia are explained and discussed.Less

Simon Glendinning

Derrida: A Very Short Introduction explores both the difficulty and significance of the work of Derrida. It explains the theory of deconstruction, presenting Derrida's ...
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Derrida: A Very Short Introduction explores both the difficulty and significance of the work of Derrida. It explains the theory of deconstruction, presenting Derrida's challenging ideas as a significant contribution to and a powerful reading of, our philosophical heritage. Defending Derrida against many of the charges that were levelled against him by the analytical philosophical community, this VSI nevertheless shows why his work inspires such passionate criticism. It explores his most famous and influential texts to show how and why Derrida's work of deconstruction is inspired not by a ‘critical frenzy’, but by a loving respect for philosophy.Less

Tom Sorell

Descartes: A Very Short Introduction explores the life and work of a man who made fundamental contributions to physics, mathematics, and optics, and reported useful ...
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Descartes: A Very Short Introduction explores the life and work of a man who made fundamental contributions to physics, mathematics, and optics, and reported useful observations in meteorology and physiology. Had he confined himself to the natural sciences, his achievement would have been remarkable enough. But his range was considerably wider. His famous statement Cogito, ergo sum is the first principle of his metaphysics, his theory of what has to be known for stable and exact science to be possible. This VSI shows that Descartes was, essentially, an advocate and practitioner of a new mathematical approach to physics, and that he developed his metaphysics to support his scientific programme.Less